


EVA

by Telesilla



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Horror, M/M, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-08
Updated: 2006-05-08
Packaged: 2017-10-05 13:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telesilla/pseuds/Telesilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orlando and Sean wander the galaxy in their ship, barely making ends meet as salvagers.  But all that changes when they discover a centuries-old, abandoned scout ship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	EVA

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sagaluthien](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=sagaluthien).



"You good, Bloom? Over."

"Jesus, Mom, who let you on board? Over."

"That's Captain Mom to you, kid. Over."

"Yeah, yeah. Bite my skinny, suited arse, Bean. Now let me do my damn job. Over."

All Orlando received over the comm was a chuckle and he grinned and went back to what he and Bean called "a little controlled B&amp;E." Bean had had to explain what B&amp;E was, but then Orlando didn't have a fondness for 20th cent detective novels the way Bean did.

So Bean called him a philistine and Orlando called Bean an old man, and they got along quite well. In a corporate fleet, they would have had to go through psych testing, which would have told them that Bean was an iconoclastic loner and Orlando an adrenaline junkie with inadequate social skills. Bean would have ended up manning a signal station and Orlando would have been turned into a ground pounder, or, if lucky, a marine.

As it was, they did just fine on the _Thin Man_, salvaging and moving "cargo," mostly jobs far too small to interest the corporates. They had enough money to buy air and food and fuel and the occasional facsimile book for Bean or a night with a girl for Orlando. When they were poor, they did without books or girls and just fucked each other. _And sometimes even when we have money, we fuck each other,_ Orlando thought as he cut his way into the ancient small-ship they'd tracked.

_Lust...been so long since I've felt it...coming closer...yes...come into my parlor...the others can wait...I want you first...just need to bait the trap...._

One of the monitors in Orlando's suit hummed as he finally overrode the airlock controls and at the same time, his comm hissed.

"Careful, Bloom. You triggered something. Over."

"What was that thing you told me once about grandmothers and eggs, Bean? I'm backing off; hit it with the scanner. Over."

"Yeah I am...holy fuck. I think the pods are still active. Once you got the lock's systems down, the ship recognized us as friendly and I was able to get some read outs. Life signs are still limited but there's something there and there look to be at least five or six active pods. Christ, this could make us fucking rich. Over."

_Yes...we will make you rich...so rich...you can have anything you want...just come in and get it...._

"Damn," Orlando murmured. Old scout ships were valuable enough as it was, but throw in cryo pods with actual survivors and he and Sean could write their own credit vouchers and have the corporates lining up to sign them. "Looks safe from here," he continued, checking his monitors carefully. "Am I good to go? Over."

"Gimme a minute...all right, yes," Bean said, his voice getting much crisper. "The board is green. You are good to go, Bloom. Repeat, good to go. Be careful. Over."

"I will, Captain. Over."

The actual crew space on the ship was quite small and Orlando had studied the plans of several classes of ships from this era, so it was easy enough to figure out where the pods should be. After a moment, he made his way in a bay lit by emergency lighting and....

"Holy fuck," he muttered.

"Repeat, Bloom," Bean said, sounding close to frantic. "Over."

"Holy fuck," Orlando repeated. "Ten pods, looks like five of them are down, and the other five...Sean, they're on standby...some yellow indicators, but mostly all green and no red. Over."

_It's safe...you're safe here...we won't harm you...our ship is safe...our computer systems are ancient and ripe for picking...you're going to have no trouble with them...._

"That matches the power reading I'm getting," Bean said, and Orlando was glad he didn't comment on the name slip up. "Look get as much data as you can, and then get back over here so we can figure out how to keep those pods up and running if we move the ship. Over."

"Right. Over."

The next hour went by quickly as Orlando took readings and started working on establishing a one way link from the _Thin Man_ to the scout ships computer. _Damn but I'm good,_ he thought as he threw up several safeguards that were his own rewrites of black market 'ware. Bean checked in two more times before Orlando swore at him and told him to back off.

Finally Orlando had done pretty much everything he could do without his own personalized board back on the _Thin Man_. As he made ready to leave, the nearest pod's stat display went green, clear across the board. _Oh fuck,_ Orlando thought, not wanting to contact Bean until he was sure what was going on.

_No you don't want to do talk to him...you want to check the systems...nothing is wrong...look it's all green...don't be scared..._

A sequence ran on the stat display and then a square section of the pod went transparent. Driven by curiosity, Orlando leaned over it and looked in.

_ **Don't be afraid.** _

Any impression of the rest of the man's--boy's?--face was lost as a pair of huge blue eyes opened. A feeling of unnatural well-being washed over Orlando as he stared into those eyes and absentmindedly switched off his suit comm.

_Hello, Orlando._

"Elijah," Orlando said.

"Bloom, do you copy? Over."

"Bloom, I repeat. Do. You. Copy? Over."

" Bloom?! Quit fucking about, ya cunt; this isn't funny. Do you copy? Over."

"Bloom, answer if you hear me."

"C'mon, Bloom. Answer me, damnit."

"Orlando? Are you there?"

_-end-_

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://sagaluthien.livejournal.com/profile)[**sagaluthien**](http://sagaluthien.livejournal.com/) who asked for Exploring Orlando off my [28 Fic Meme](http://telesilla.livejournal.com/417612.html) list. This one is tugging at me a bit and I may write more in this universe. Also, EVA stands for Extra-Vehicular Activity and describes maneuvers performed by an astronaut/spacer outside a spacecraft in space.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Haunted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28859) by [kyuuketsukirui](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyuuketsukirui/pseuds/kyuuketsukirui)




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